News & Perspectives on Beer and its Culture

The Unknown Brewing Co.

The Unknown Brewing Company (Charlotte, North Carolina) has announced that it will hold a special taproom release for Rarest Bean, an Imperial Stout brewed with two of the rarest beans in the world, at 3 p.m. on Friday, February 16.

To ensure that Rarest Bean lives up to its name, The Unknown Brewing Company brewed this “Imperial Pastry Sweet Stout” with a recipe that boasts not one but two highly coveted beans. The first of the beans is Black Ivory Coffee, “literally the rarest coffee bean on earth.” With only about 1,000 pounds produced each year, this rare and pricey coffee ($100 a bag) is consumed and “processed” by elephants. Yeah, that means what you think it means.

The overachievers at The Unknown then took things a step further by adding Tongan vanilla beans to this rare bean roster. Although these beans were never inside an elephant, they do create “an extremely rich vanilla flavor.” That’s a good thing because these magic beans come in a package that “only contains 2 beans and is around $30-$40 per container.” Do you see the trend here? The Rarest Bean’s ingredients are special, rare and exclusive, and that makes Rarest Bean special, rare and exclusive.

Rarest Bean will be available exclusively in the taproom at The Unknown Brewing Company at 3 p.m. on Friday, February 16. Due to the rarity of the ingredients and the exorbitant cost of brewing this beer, the brewery has only produced 100 bottles of Rarest Bean and bottle limits will be set at two (2) per person during the release event. A quick run on that math leads us to believe that these bottles will not last long, so make sure you are at the brewery early on February 16 to give yourself the best chance possible to secure your bottle(s) of Rarest Bean. Prost!

On Saturday, June 10 at 2 p.m., the folks at The Unknown Brewing Co. (Charlotte, North Carolina) will recognize their 3.5ish Anniversary with a full-blown music festival boasting six musical acts, fine cigars and a ridiculous amount of tasty brews.

To make good on their promise to go “bigger and better” with each year’s anniversary festivities, The Unknown Brewing Co. has booked 6 of “the best up and coming bands in the US” to properly celebrate the brewery’s 3.5ish Anniversary. If that were not enough, this event will also feature limited release brews, beer-infused cigars, a charity fundraiser, and quite a few other surprises from The Unknown. The 3.5ish Music Festival is absolutely bursting with awesome details, so let’s break it all down.

The stage times for each band have not yet been released, but we will update this area with that information once it is available.

The Beer

This event may be a Music Festival, but it is still being thrown by a brewery. With that said, The Unknown Brewing Co. obviously plans to celebrate its 3.5ish Anniversary with some damn tasty beers as well:

This event will act as the release of The Unknown Brewing Co.’s Geuze-inspired Lambic Ale titled “3.5ish“

A vast array of limited release beers will be flowing on tap

The brewery will also be delving back into its recipe book to revive several beers from the past

The Cause

To ensure that this event makes a difference, The 3.5ish Music Festival will also act as a fundraiser for Purple Heart Homes – a 501(c)3 public charity “dedicated to providing housing for Service Connected Disabled Veterans that is substantial in function, design, and quality fit to welcome home the fighting men and women of America.” During the event, The Unknown Brewing Co. will have a special “Charity Tap” set up. $1 from every pint sold from the “Charity Tap” will go to benefit Purple Heart Homes.

Additional Info

To round off the celebration, The 3.5ish Music Festival will also feature cigars from Cigar Row that have been infused with beer from The Unknown Brewing Co., a selection of local food trucks, and quite a few “other awesome surprises.”

That should just about cover all the information currently available concerning The 3.5ish Music Festival from The Unknown Brewing Co. Once more details are released, we will of course update you here with that info. You really cannot go wrong with a fantastic day filled with live music for just $10 a person. Factor in all of those amazing beers that you will have access to, and this event easily graduates to can’t-miss status. If you are free on June 10 and in the Charlotte area, make sure you are at The Unknown Brewing Co. for its 3.5ish Music Festival and Anniversary Party. Prost!

The Unknown Brewing Co. (Charlotte, North Carolina) announced on Tuesday that they will soon be releasing Bright Ass Tank Top Rum Barrel-aged Key Lime Gose.

Bright Ass Tank Top starts with the wildly popular base of the Gose, a German style that is “generally light in color with a blend of barley and wheat and then lightly soured for a dry tart finish.” This Gose was later introduced to some fresh key limes and fine sea salt, and then the beer took a three-month rest in 15-year-old Nicaraguan Rum barrels. 4.1% ABV + key limes + Rum barrel-aging = quite possibly the perfect beer to finish off the summer.

“When I smelled these barrels I instantly thought of relaxing on a beach in the sun with something refreshing and light, and I also thought about being a Pirate but sometimes my mind wanders,” said Head Brewer Brad Shell.

Bright Ass Tank Top will officially release in about two weeks with distribution in North Carolina, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. **UPDATE** Details on the official release have surfaced. Bright Ass Tank Top will be available starting this weekend and will then see distribution beginning next week (Monday, September 5) **UPDATE** You can find this limited offering in 16 oz. 4-packs and limited draft. Prost!